Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Decreases Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 35.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,043 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,232 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,751 shares of company stock valued at $9,493,973. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCD. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim increased their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.12.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $300.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $306.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.